Tag: Economic Survey 2020

Economic Survey 2020 pitches for effective minimum wage policy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Economic Survey 2020 has pitched for an effective minimum wage policy. Wage policy is a potential tool not only for the protection of low paid workers but is also an inclusive mechanism for more resilient and sustainable economic development.

(Also read: Economic Survey 2020: CEA signature touch is ‘Thalinomics’, on affordability of food )

The survey calls for fixing of minimum wages in four categories viz., unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled. Wages should be fixed based on the geographical region and should cover all workers, irrespective of any wage ceiling, the Economic Survey 2020 said.

Country’s present minimum wage system is complex. The wage policy has 1,915 minimum wages defined for various scheduled job categories across various states. One in every three wage workers in India is not protected by the minimum wage law in India.

A simple, coherent and enforceable minimum wage system should be designed with the aid of technology as minimum wages push wages up and reduce wage inequality without significantly affecting employment.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Economic Survey 2020: Govt intervention in market hurting more than it helps

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s economic survey said intervention by the government, though well-intended, often ends up undermining the ability of markets to create wealth and leads to outcomes that are the opposite of the intentions.

The survey, which forecasts growth of 6-6.5 percent in the next financial year starting April 1, gave the examples of commodities, drugs, foodgrain and debt waivers to buttress this point.

First, the frequent and blanket imposition of blanket stock limits on commodities under essential commodities neither brings down prices nor reduces price volatility.

Second, the regulation of drug prices has led to an increase in the price of a particular drug under government lens than one that is not, according to the survey.

Third, government policies in the foodgrain markets have led to the emergence of Government as the largest producer and hoarder of foodgrains – adversely affecting competition in these markets. This has led to overflowing of buffer stocks with FCI, burgeoning food subsidy burden, divergence between demand and supply of cereals and acted as a disincentive towards crop diversification.

Fourth, analysis of debt waivers given by the States/Centre shows that full waiver beneficiaries consume less, save less, invest less and are less productive after the waiver when compared to the partial beneficiaries. The share of formal credit decreases for full beneficiaries when compared to partial beneficiaries, thereby defeating the very purpose of the debt waiver provided to farmers.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Economic Survey 2020: The Latest

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Economic Survey 2020 was tabled in the Parliament on Friday, a day ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2020. The survey has forecast India’s GDP growth for the fiscal year 2020-21 in the range of 6 percent-6.5 percent and for FY20 at 5 percent.

The Indian economic growth is expected to pick up in the second half of FY20 and a strong rebound could be seen in FY21 on a low base, according to the document.

As we get the details from the Economic Survey, we bring to you the latest on the annual document:

1:32 pm – Separate entity would be managed by an independent board.

1:31 pm – Govt can transfer its stake in the listed CPSEs to a separate corporate entity.

1:16 pm – Govt steps, including infra pipeline, present green shoots for growth in FY21.

1:15 pm – Real consumption growth has recovered in Q2.

1:12 pm – Case for MPC to not respond to the transitory spike in CPI.

1:03 pm – Rise in core inflation in December suggests demand pressure is building.

1:02 pm – FY20 GDP growth seen at 5%.

1:01 pm –  Industrial activity rebounding, showing signs of pick-up.

12:57 pm –  Continued global trade tensions could hit India exports.

12:56 pm – Pace of GDP growth recovery to impact revenue collection.

12:54 pm – High non-tax revenue growth not sustainable year after year.

12:54 pm – Cut in capex by govt may adversely hurt growth.

12:53 pm – Strong rebound in growth expected in FY21 on low base.

12:53 pm – Growth resurgence expected to begin starting H2FY20.

12:53 pm – Improvement in tax mop-up hinges on GST revenue buoyancy.

12:52 pm – Low tax or GDP ratio constrains govt infra spends.

12:51 pm – Banks may remain risk-averse unless the IBC process speeds up.

12:51 pm – Private investments may get crowded on higher govt infra spends.

12:51 pm – Realty companies must cut home prices to clear unsold inventory.

12:51 pm – Greater home sales can clean up the bank, NBFC balance sheets.

12:50 pm – We need counter-cyclical fiscal steps to boost demand.

12:50 pm – India may need to relax the fiscal gap target for FY20 to revive growth.

12:50 pm – FY21 expected to pose challenges on the fiscal front.

12:40 pm – FY21 GDP growth seen at 6-6.5 percent.

12:49 pm – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tables the Economic Survey in the Parliament.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Economic Survey 2020 estimates FY21 GDP growth at 6-6.5%

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Economic Survey 2020 forecast India’s GDP growth to be in the range of 6 percent to 6.5 percent in the fiscal year 2020-21. The survey tabled in the Upper House on Friday believes the next fiscal is expected to pose challenges on the fiscal front and the FY20 fiscal deficit target of 3.3 percent of GDP may have to be relaxed.

The Indian economic growth is expected to pick up in the second half of FY20 and a strong rebound could be seen in FY21 on a low base, according to the document.

Easing of monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India and several measures announced by the government in the last one year present green shoots for growth in H2FY20 and FY21, noted the document.

“The government must use its strong mandate to deliver expeditiously on reforms, which will enable the economy to rebound in 2020-21,” added the document.

The survey was released ahead of the Union Budget 2020, which will be presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

First advance estimates released by the Central Statistics Ministry in early January estimated India’s GDP growth during fiscal 2019-20 at 5 percent as compared to 6.8 percent in the year-ago period.

Indranil pan, chief economist, IDFC First Bank, said, “For the next fiscal year, a lot would depend on not only the domestic conditions but even the global conditions, where we see the coronavirus issue affecting the financial markets and therefore we need to look at that perspective also.”

Annual economic growth slowed to 4.5 perecent in the July-September quarter, the weakest pace since 2013.

Slowing growth has put pressure on the government to expedite reforms. The government could announce in the Budget 2020 tax concessions for individuals and increase spending on infrastructure after cutting corporate tax rates last year.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Economic Survey 2020: CEA signature touch is ‘Thalinomics’, on affordability of food

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Every Chief Economic Adviser to the finance ministry seeks to bring in something new and unique to the economic survey, which is tabled in the parliament a day before the budget. Incumbent Krishnamurthy Subramanian has continued with the tradition in this edition of the survey by bringing in the concept of ‘Thalinomics’ – which seeks to map the ability of an average Indian to buy a thali.

For this , food prices across 28 states have been analysed in the FY06-FY20 period. In other words, ‘Thalinomics’ is an exercise in analysing affordability of food in India or an attempt to quantity what a common person pays for a thali across India.

As food is a necessity, a rapid rise in the price of a thali has the most direct and conspicuous effect on the common man. According to Economic Survey 2020, absolute price of a veg thali has decreased since FY16 but In FY 19, price of veg thali saw a hike.

In the survey, ‘Thalinomics’ shows that affordability of a veg thali increased by 29 percent between FY06 to FY20, in non veg thali, affordability increased by 18 percent in the same period.

Many reform measures were introduced during 2015-16 to enhance the productivity of the agricultural sector as well as efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural markets for better and more transparent price discovery, the Survey said.

CPI (Industrial workers) data of 80 centres in 25 states was used for this exercise.

India’s annual retail inflation spiked to its highest level in more than five years in 2019. In December, it picked up to 7.35 percent, mainly driven by rising food prices.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Economic Survey 2020: Assemble in India for the world, Thalinomics, wealth creation, less govt intervention among key ideas

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Economic Survey 2020: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday tabled the Economic Survey 2020 in the Parliament, a day ahead of the Union Budget on February 1. The survey has projected India’s growth at 6 percent to 6.5 percent in the next financial year starting April 1, saying growth has bottomed out. The growth in 2020-21 compares to a projected 5 percent expansion in 2019-20. Earlier, the budget session of Parliament began on Friday with President Ram Nath Kovind addressing the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Economic Survey 2020 likely to peg FY20 GDP growth at 5%

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s growth rate in FY21 is being seen in the range of 6-6.5 percent by the Economic Survey, which will be tabled later today in both houses of the parliament, signalling that the crushing slowdown is finally releasing its grip on the economy.

For the current year, the survey forecasts India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 5 percent — the slowest pace in 11 years — against the earlier estimate of 7 percent in July 2019, people familiar with the matter told CNBC-TV18. They asked not to be named.

The document, which maps the state of India’s economy and is prepared by a team of economists based in India’s finance ministry, believes that the downward slide in the country’s GDP has bottomed out. The overarching theme in this year’s economic survey is “Wealth Creation” and spells out 10 new ideas to achieve this, they said.

Annual economic growth slowed to 4.5 perecent in the July-September quarter, the weakest pace since 2013, owing to weakening demand and private investment. Earlier this month, the ministry of statistics said in a statement that GDP is estimated to grow 5.0 percent in 2019-20, slower than the 6.8 percent growth of 2018-19.

Slowing growth has put pressure on the government to expedite reforms as five rate cuts by Reserve Bank of India have hardly helped. It will also likely push finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to go for extra fiscal stimulus when she presents the annual budget on Saturday.

The government is expected to announce tax concessions for individuals and increase spending on infrastructure after cutting corporate tax rates last year, according to officials.

Among other policy recommendations, the survey is understood to have recommended “Assemble In India For The Globe” strategy for the manufacturing sector. Moreover, Economic Survey 2020 also calls for super specialisation of India Inc in labour-intensive manufacturing sectors.

Chapters in the document analyse the reason for the slowdown in the economy, the effectiveness of price control measures, and the need for more Ease of Doing Business measures. The Economic Survey calls for strong reforms in Public Sector Banks and suggests the use of Artificial Intelligence to better utilise the wealth of data created by the government-owned banks.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow